
-----GRAVITORB 2-----

A game by Duncan Fenn [lunarlandscape@hotmail.com]
Created using Multimedia Fusion [http://www.clickteam.com]

Thanks for downloading this game, its much appreciated! Below are some fairly important instructions for playing.

To view this file correctly, I'd advise you use 'word wrap'.

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1: Installation and running

To get Gravitorb 2 up and running you'll need to:
-Extract the files to the folder of your choice. Which you most likely have already done.
-Run the file "Gravitorb2.exe".

The game requires two .dll files to run; "bass.dll" and "cncs232.dll". They are included. While the game ought to work fine with these in the same directory as the executable, you may want to move them into "C:\windows" or whatever.

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2: About the game

Gravitorb 2 is loosely based on games like Gravitar, where gravity becomes an important element in what would otherwise be a very simple shoot'em-up. This makes for intense gaming; harsh to the inexperienced, yet masterable through patience and perserverence.

The force of gravity will act on your ship, pulling you down; without careful use of thrust, accurate timing and judgement, you will end up crashing to the ground. Be warned!

Your goal is to navigate your ship around the single-screen levels, collecting power-ups and goodies, avoiding obstacles and destroying enemies. To complete a level, you must collect all the diamonds and land in the marked exit.

More detailed game-help is available in the in-game help screen... Check it out.

Gravitorb 2 features 70 levels, including one boss. You have only five lives per-game - but by no means do you have to play from the beginning each time you lose them all. Your progress is automatically saved, and you can immediately jump to any level that you have reached. Of course you'll lose your score though.

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3: Interface

Gravitorb 2 has a mouse-driven interface (though the game itself is played with the keyboard). You can't fail to notice a number of buttons around the top of the screen. To navigate around through the game, click on the appropriate ones - its that easy!

Occasionally after clicking a button you'll be confronted with drop-down menus, to present more options. Don't be afraid, they're fairly easy to use too (just click on stuff).

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4: Controls

Here is a summary of the game's controls.

Up-arrow: Thrust forwards
Left-arrow: Rotate anti-clockwise
Right-arrow: Rotate clockwise

Ctrl: Shoot

To land, rotate your ship to a suitable angle and gradually descend.

...And that's about it!

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5: The level-editor

Gravitorb 2 comes bundled with a level-editor. That's right, you can make your own levels! You can access the editor, and load custom-made levels via the appropriate button on the title-screen.

To use the level editor, select tiles from the "TILE" drop down menu; left-click to place them, right-click to delete. Note that some tiles cannot be placed in certain positions - you'll be warned about this, so don't worry. To save or load a map, click "SAVE/LOAD" - the options presented here are quite self-explanatory.

Note that you won't be prompted to save a map when loading another or leaving the editor, so be careful.

Custom-levels are saved to, and loaded from the directory "/user levels". The filename extension is ".gul". These things are important to bear in mind if you intend to trade levels.

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6: Bugs

Gravitorb 2 has its fair share of bugs, the most prominent being in the level-editor. You'll occasionally find it impossible to write to a particular grid-square, tiles will appear out of place when the level is loaded, and other strange things occur. I have found it difficult to even find the source of such bugs; from what I can see this is more to do with Multimedia Fusion, and the object used for data-storage, than my own coding. Fortunately these happen rarely, and can be worked around by saving your level and reloading the editor.

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7: Credits

Graphics, programming, music by Duncan Fenn
Level design by Duncan Fenn
Game made using Multimedia Fusion
Mod music written in Modplug tracker
Beta-testing by Johann Grimstvedt, Jason Garcia, Chris Street, Kris Allen

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That's all.
Now go and play!!

-Duncan